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UltraFun AirSports Modifications and projects |
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10/6/03 The last couple of landings from the previous weekend had the left wheel shimmying at about 30mph, so I decided to take the gear apart. The fiberglass leg was fractured, probably in part from my rough runway, and finally from landing a few 250lb passengers that weekend. Since I was going to be down for at least a week, I figured this would be the perfect time to do a few other projects that I had been planning on. |
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One of the most frustrating things to do in a Titan is fuel it. The
vent line is too small, and if you're not careful, fuel will bubble back
out the filler neck right at you. It took too long to fill the tank
going that slow. I added a 1/2" hose barb to vent the tank
faster. I also had problems with the fuel gauge sender weeping because I couldn't get a tight seal. I ended up using 1/8X3" drywall toggles. You only have to make the hole large enough for the screw, not the toggle itself, since with 3", there's plenty of room to screw the toggle on inside the tank (I used needle nose pliers to hold the toggle). It worked great. |
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Refueling dilemma, part II. If you don't have someone watching how full the tank is getting, you'll slosh yourself with gas anyway. To solve this, I've cut out a door in the panel, which will be hinged to open and see where I'm at while I'm fueling. | |
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While I had the dremel out, I decided to do a nose hatch, too. This allows me easy access to the battery ,but more importantly, I'm able to add/remove weight in the tip to accommodate lighter pilots, since I'm a bit tail heavy. Right now there's about 6lbs of bagged shot in there. I'll be putting some basic tools and a quart of oil up there instead, making the excess weight at least practical. | |
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The finished product. I've put my tie downs in there also. This is one of the best mods I've done. | |
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Now that it's fall, it's time for heat. I picked up this 6"X6" heater core from an auto parts store. It should work great. | |
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4 computer fans will provide the flow, with 2 of them being used for low speed (one to each hose) and 4 for high speed. I'll use aluminum sheet to build a housing for all of it. UPDATE: the fans didn't move enough air, so I scrapped the idea. | |
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I didn't take any pictures of the process, but here's the finished product. There's a 3" marine bilge blower behind the box. It's wired to a 3-speed switch. The box was made out of aluminum and covered in the insulation I had left over from the aft panels. | |
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The factory panel didn't fit too well so Debbie and I made up a new one. We used the same 3/8" insulation as the ceiling has. | |
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Not wanting to have just a black panel, I designed, and Debbie sewed, a Titan outline for the panel. | |
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